Was Larry Holmes Ever Truly Appreciated During His Reign?

He was always compared to Ali, but everyone I knew saw him as the best heavyweight around until the Carl Williams fight. We had no doubt even during the Witherspoon, mostly because of the heart he showed in that fight.

Noone I knew thought Dokes, Thomas, Coetzee, or Page could beat him until Williams. A Witherspoon rematch would have been nice.

I didn't know a single person who thought Spinks won that second fight, and at least half of them thought Larry won the first fight as well.

 

He certainly was appreciated. But a fair amount of that was due to the other heavies around were not appreciated much. But Larry Holmes knew what it took and was always very very well prepared for his bouts. not so with others.

 

He was considered to be the best heavyweight in the world, without doubt. He wasn't beloved like Ali, but he got full credit for his boxing skills. Spinks-Holmes I was a huge, rare type upset.

It was Ali that was the outlier. The public speaker.